Exploring alternatives to constantly buying new crap

It was cold out getting the groceries this morning. Maybe a good day to make a big pot of hearty, veggie soup. Yum!

Stop 0: Wheatsville Co-op

My husband snuck off to do his own grocery shopping earlier this week to stock up on junk food plus a couple of peppers.

Red bell pepper, 0.48 pounds: $1.44

Jalapeno pepper, 0.09 pounds: $0.16

Vegan mozarella, 8 ounces: $4.79

Hemp milk, 1 quart: $3.99

Chocolate hemp milk, 1 quart: $3.99

Milk chocolate, 1 heart: $0.89

Tofurkey hot dogs: $3.74

Tofurkey sausage: $3.74

Total: $22.81

First stop: Wheatsville Co-op

My first shop with my new Co-op membership card! I don’t expect it to financially be worth the $70 I invested for at least a few years, but you know what they say: “Put your money where your mouth is.”

Yellow onion, 1.46 pounds: $2.18

Carrots, 1.36 pounds: $2.03

Granny Smith apples, 0.71 pounds: $1.77

Red delicious apples, 0.94 pounds: $2.15

Tomato, 1.48 pounds: $1.68

Mango: $1.99

Garlic, 0.20 pounds: $1.16

Avocado: $1.99

Spinach, 0.20 pounds: $1.40

Baking soda, 2 pounds: $1.79

Toilet paper: $1.49

Green lentils, 2.94 pounds: $4.97

Garbanzo beans, 1.19 pounds: $3.32

Brown rice, 1.30 pounds: $3.63

Almonds, 0.61 pounds: $7.31

Total: $36.00

Sorry for the lousy photo. I was pressed for time this morning. But you should be able to make out my new labeling system for bulk foods. Rather than using the stickers at the store, I cut up a piece of old junk mail and wrote on the back, rubber banding the tare and PLU to each jar. Sadly, in the process of picking out rubber bands, I realized a couple had gone brittle and needed to be thrown out.

New-to-me food: chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans. If I remember to soak these tonight, I’ll cook them up tomorrow and freeze the extras as usual. I hear they have a nice nutty flavor.

Second stop: Downtown Farmers Market

Spaghetti squash: $4.00

Brocolli: $8.00

White mushrooms: $4.00

Bok choi: $2.00

Radishes: $2.00

Lettuce: $3.00

Total: $23.00

You can’t really tell from that picture but those heads of broccoli are huge. I may have to prep and freeze some of it for the upcoming broccoli-free months.

New-to-me veg #2: Bok choi. I have no idea what to do with this yet, but I’ve seen this in recipes in the past, which I promptly ignored because they required bok choi, so it shouldn’t be too hard to make a plan for it.

Last stop: Backyard garden

Not much to harvest, but I did pick one precious carrot. Just a couple of inches long and so sweet and tender. Not wanting to waste anything, I ate it leaves and all.